By Ben Fox Rubin
Retailers will be the dominant sector on next week's earnings
calendar, with many big names in the space reporting.
Also, some housing data should provide clues about the housing
market's momentum.
Heavy Week for Retailers
Rivals Home Depot Inc. (HD) and Lowe's Cos. (LOW) come out with
their quarterly numbers next week amid a large grouping of other
retailers.
Helped by Hurricane Sandy rebuilding and real-estate recovery,
Home Depot--the country's No. 1 home-improvement retailer--reported
its strongest sales at longstanding locations in eight years during
its previous quarter. It widened its lead over Lowe's and, unlike a
swath of other retailers, said it didn't notice any strain on
consumers from a payroll-tax increase. But it joined their ranks
with a weaker forecast than expected, undercutting an otherwise
strong report.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Home Depot to post an
18% increase in per-share earnings and a 5% rise in revenue, while
Lowe's is forecast to report 15% growth in earnings per share and a
2% increase in revenue.
Other retailers reporting earnings include Best Buy Co. Inc.
(BBY), Target Corp. (TGT), Saks Inc. (SKS), Gap Inc. (GPS) and
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF). Auto-parts retailers Advance
Auto Parts Inc. (AAP) and AutoZone Inc. (AZO) will also be
reporting.
Two Recent IPOs Reporting
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (SEAS) and ING U.S. Inc. (VOYA) are
scheduled to report their first quarterly earnings since going
public.
Both stocks have enjoyed big jumps since their recent debuts.
SeaWorld, based in Orlando, Fla., operates 11 theme parks,
including two Busch Gardens and three of its namesake destinations.
The company has seen its bottom line improve on rising revenue over
the past few years, and went public planning to pay an annual
dividend of about 3% a share. Shares are trading above $38, up from
the IPO price of $27.
ING U.S., an insurer and retirement savings plan provider, plans
to change its name to Voya Financial in the next few years as it
separates from Dutch parent ING Groep NV (ING, INGA.AE), which was
directed to divest itself of overseas assets after a 2008
government bailout. The stock has traded around $24.75 on Friday,
up from the offer price of $19.50.
More Quarterly Earnings
Other companies planning to report next week are Campbell Soup
Co. (CPB), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Pandora Media Inc. (P) and
Intuit Inc. (INTU).
Housing Momentum Expected to Build
Housing will dominate the sparse data calendar next week. The
meager offering of data will allow investors to focus on speeches
by Federal Reserve officials as well as the release of
policy-meeting minutes Wednesday.
The housing recovery remains a bright spot in the economic
outlook, and next week's numbers on demand should confirm momentum
building into the spring, thanks to low mortgage rates, brighter
consumer sentiment and recovering job markets.
The National Association of Realtors is slated to report
existing home sales Wednesday. The median forecast of economists
surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires is that resales rose 1% in April,
to an annual rate of 4.97 million. New home sales, scheduled for
Thursday, are also expected to rise.
Constellium IPO Expected
Aluminum products company Constellium NV is expected to go
public next week, among a handful of other potential IPOs.
The company, which serves the aerospace, packaging and
automotive end markets, said it might use the funds raised for
working capital, capital expenditures, repayment of debt and
funding acquisition opportunities.
--Kathleen Madigan contributed to this report.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@dowjones.com
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